[media-credit name=”Luke Sharrett, The New York Time” align=”alignnone” width=”495″][/media-credit]

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 7, 2012.

The often well-deserved rap on religion is that it’s divisive, the cause of conflict rather than peace — even though all the great religions preach peace.

Unfortunately, as we begin the silly season of national electoral politics, we’re going to see much evidence for that bad rap. I say “silly season,” but I could as accurately say the violent season, the season of partisan fear-mongering, of suspicion and even hatred, of half-truths, of propaganda and polarization. The cartoonists already show us kicking our TVs out the window and going into mental hibernation to escape all the sound and fury that signifies nothing. For it is not intended to signify, to speak with intelligent seriousness. It’s designed, rather to provoke partisan passion.

Yet I believe that religion should and at times actually does speak important truth to public affairs, even when the electorate is divided and increasingly partisan. So we need to find ways to attend to the serious voices even as we learn to filter out the sound and fury.

Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, gestures during an interview at the North American College in Rome on Feb. 14, 2012.

Forty-three Roman Catholic institutions — none of them in Colorado — filed 12 lawsuits Monday in federal courts across the country over the Obama administration’s mandate that health insurance plans include coverage for various forms of contraception.

The combined effort by Catholic dioceses, schools, social services and other organizations was long expected even after the Obama administration had conceded that Catholic institutions would not have to pay for coverage or refer their employees for coverage. But church officials and leaders say that it nevertheless requires religious employers to provide contraceptive and sterilization services in violation of their beliefs and the First Amendment.

“We have tried negotiation with the Administration and legislation with the Congress — and we’ll keep at it — but there’s still no fix,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is not party in the lawsuits. “It is also a compelling display of the unity of the Church in defense of religious liberty.”

Where is your moral compass pointing? What are your social values? Hark will explore faith, morals, ethics and character at the intersection of religion ethics, culture, politics, media, science, education, economics and philosophy. At times this blog will alert readers to breaking news and trends. At times it will attempt to look more deeply into intriguing subjects. Hark means to listen attentively, and we will, as readers talk back to the news.